Count To Ten
by TheSickenerHits
Summary: Alex and Piper visit a kink club in Amsterdam. Piper wants to continue her education back in their hotel room. (Pre-Litchfield oneshot. Light kink. A sort of sequel to "Tell Me Again", a potential prequel to "I Want You To Want Me".) Inspired by a conversation with unsorted.


Amsterdam was beautiful, and Piper had been enjoying every second of the trip.

While Alex attended to "business", the blonde wandered through tourist-strewn streets, drinking in the atmosphere as she was blown like litter from coffeehouses to shop fronts.

After her third day of sightseeing, boredom was threatening to set in, and Piper found herself travelling in ever-decreasing circles as she wove her way back to the hotel, changing her outfit before meeting Alex at the bar she'd mentioned that morning.

Darkness crept up on Amsterdam as though out of nowhere, and Piper only just reached her girlfriend as the sun set, having marked the ten minutes it took her from lobby to liaison in the back of a taxi, evening darkening the bricks while the lamps lit around them.

* * *

"I thought you said you wanted to get away from the tourists?" Piper smiled upon arrival, an arm around her girlfriend's waist as she eyed the bustling bar, although Alex had managed to find them a small table in a secluded corner near the door.  
A leery stag party passed a little too close, and Alex pressed against her subconsciously, a providing safe place in the crowd, a lighthouse in a social storm.  
"Sometimes you've got to cut through the crowd to get to the other side, Pipes." Alex said softly, fingertips brushing Piper's hand as she passed her a chilled beer, leaving trails of cold condensation across warm skin.

Piper brightened immediately. "Are we eating here?"  
Alex reached across their table and toyed with Piper's fingers, intertwining them. "I thought maybe we could eat at the hotel tonight."  
"Oh." Piper was confused, not only by the coy expression on Alex's face, but also by the fact that Alex had insisted Piper come out and meet her at this particular venue. If they were eating at the hotel, Piper could've waited there.

Alex continued, her eyes scanning the room before continuing. "There's somewhere I'd like to take you, before dinner. Unless you're hungry now?"  
Aspects of Alex's behaviour seemed evasive, and her eyes hadn't settled on Piper for longer than a second since they'd sat down. Something was wrong.  
"No, I had a snack back at the..." But Alex had closed off again, absently stroking Piper's knuckles as she browsed the bottles behind the bar, watching the clock above the Cuban rum as though she were waiting for something. " _Alex_?"  
Alex's head whipped back, eyes focusing on Piper. "Yeah Pipes?"

Alex's preoccupation was throwing her, and she wanted to help. She smiled again, gently this time, as she traced the water droplets from her bottled beer across Alex's upturned wrist, chilling the veins that threaded beneath the thin skin.  
"Is something wrong?" Piper knew she was supposed to feel relief as Alex shook her head, but it wasn't enough.  
She pressed her hands over her girlfriend's damp flesh and smiled. "Then will you at least tell me where we're going?"  
Watching Piper's motions intently, Alex adjusted her glasses, visibly softening before the blonde. "It's a club."

They watched one another for a moment more before Piper spoke again, unable to deconstruct Alex's answer. "You seem a little distant tonight."  
Alex paused, mulling over a response before opening her mouth. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I guess I'm preoccupied."  
Piper waited before pushing for more. Alex rarely performed well under pressure, unless they were in bed. _In those cases, the pressure often made the outcome better_.

"The place we're going to," the brunette continued, dismissively. "I've never taken anybody there before."

Piper's train of thought slowed, pulling her into a station she hadn't seen before: Alex Vause was nervous. The coolest, calmest person she had ever known was nervous. It was so uncharacteristic, Piper felt uneasy.

"Well," She slipped off the stool and rounded on Alex, finishing the last mouthful beer she had consumed surprisingly quickly. A buzz hit her as she reached the brunette, bolstering her bravado, curiosity consuming her. _What could possibly make Alex nervous?_ " You've got me intrigued."  
Alex raised a knowing eyebrow at her, a smirk gracing her beer-slicked lips. "Patience is a virtue, Pipes."  
Piper felt a blush flushing her neck, warming her. "I'm not very good at being patient."  
Alex laughed a little, her mirth rumbling low in her throat. She watched Piper closely before breaking their social silence again. "Then what're we waiting for? Let's go."

Piper tugged on the hand she still had hold of, Alex grabbing for her drink as they left the bar.

* * *

The broad pedestrianised street systems became a series of alleys, narrow and uninviting.

As the drink saturated her system, Piper felt less and less certain of her footing across the cold cobbles, doing her best not to trip. The beer had been a bad idea.  
Tonight was obviously important to Alex, and yet here she was, rambling about her day, 500cl of amber-coloured alcohol having run through her system faster than she'd been ready for.

Alex meanwhile remained quiet, letting Piper's chatter fill her head in an effort to push out her doubts. _This was a mistake_.  
She trusted Piper a great deal - that was why she'd brought her along to Amsterdam - but they were still a new couple. They had so much to talk about, and this was one of those things.

Rather than a sit-down, serious discussion, Alex had always preferred the hands-on approach. She just hoped that Piper felt the same way.

"Ready to tell me about this magical mystery tour?"  
Piper had been patient, and Alex couldn't stress how much she appreciated that. She slowed to a stop, pulling her girlfriend in for a soft kiss as she did so.  
"And ruin the surprise?" Alex winked, turning Piper on the spot to face a pair of imposing doors set into a stone archway. The brunette exhaled, her free hand drifting through her hair. _No going back now_. "This is it, Pipes. You ready?"

The voices of other visitors to the city had long since died away, and they were alone in the dimly lit side street.  
"I can't be ready if I don't know what I'm supposed to be ready for." Piper pouted. Alex didn't respond, pressing her palm against the door and pushing it open.

* * *

The corridor awaiting them was dimly lit, and music pumped out from the darkness, beckoning them inside. With one arm around Piper's waist, Alex ushered her girlfriend into the building. Piper allowed herself to be led, glad of Alex's guidance.

This wasn't Alex's first time in this particular venue, and she doubted that it would be her last, although this visit would certainly be the decider.

She felt Piper pause as they passed an entry booth and a velvet rope, stumbling out into a large room filled with people in varying states of undress. The music hammered at her sternum like a heartbeat, and she suddenly felt very under-dressed. Or perhaps that was _over-dressed_.

"Is this..." Piper hesitated, seeking the appropriate terminology as she gazed at the assembled assortment of leather and latex before her. "Have you brought me to a kink club, Ms Vause?"  
Alex's smile was wry, and if Piper wasn't mistaken, a little anxious. "I might have. Is that okay?"

She cocked an eyebrow, all false courage and questions, but she was beginning to regret bringing Piper here, the effects of the rum she'd consumed prior to Piper's arrival steadily wearing off. The blonde gazed around, and Alex waited for evidence that she may have overwhelmed her, made a mistake.

"I guess I did say that I wanted to see _all_ of Amsterdam." Piper conceded, nerves slipping as she registered the hundreds of happy people around her, the whole scenario considerably less intimidating than she had imagined.

Alex laughed, relieved, a smirk gracing her lips once more. "Drink?"  
She gestured in the direction of the bar but Piper was already preoccupied, her attention elsewhere, standing on her toes to see above the heads of those around her.

Drawn towards the crowd, Piper found herself watching a woman torment a willing partner on a raised platform. She was transfixed by the scene; the kneeling man, blindfolded and bound, patiently waiting for the next command. There was something tender and affectionate about the whole scene.

The dark haired woman leading the moment had complete control, and Piper couldn't help but draw similarities between this stranger and Alex: the way she held herself, the ineffable coolness, her striking charisma. It was all startlingly reminiscent of her girlfriend, whose hand rested in the small of her back at that very moment.

A flush rose from her neck as the pair on stage exchanged a heated kiss, and Piper only heard Alex addressing her as her girlfriend's mouth brushed at her ear, shattering her immersion.

"Pipes, do you want a drink?"  
She turned to find the brunette's eyes glittering in the darkness, full of unspoken promises and the best kind of temptations. "Yes, please."  
"Wine, beer, something… _Stronger_?" Alex pressed against her in the heaving mass of bodies, Piper's lips grazing hers as she responded, in a tone barely above a whisper.  
"Beer, please. Can I stay here? I don't want to miss anything."

Alex pulled back slightly, holding her girlfriend's gaze. She had expected Piper's interest to be piqued, although nothing above her usual excitement about a new art exhibition. In truth, she had been fully prepared for Piper to request a cab home. But this was new territory, something very different. Piper was more than simply curious: she was keen.

"Anything you want, kid." Alex nodded and released the blonde's hand reluctantly, turning towards the bar after watching Piper slip away into the writhing crowd, seeking a new spectacle.

* * *

They had been in the club for approximately an hour before Alex had bottled it, calling it a night at 10pm, having been counting the minutes on her mobile.

Arousal was stirring in the pit of her stomach, and she'd wanted to take Piper there and then, pressed against a padded pillar as the music mirrored her pounding pulse.

Although Alex wasn't fully immersed into this particular scene and never had been, she had experimented with enough lovers to know what she liked, and her interests lay along the boundaries of the community; not vanilla, but not an active practitioner.

Still, the concept of revisiting some of her favourite kinks with Piper sent a heat travelling through her body, and she was anxious to get home for a number of reasons.

The return to the hotel was a slow walk, filled with Piper's incessant rambling about everything she had just witnessed, including things that Alex too had been present for. Alex kept her counsel, watching Piper closely for any misgivings, reluctant to show her hand until she knew which cards Piper herself was holding.

Thankfully, Piper had a terrible poker face. Her exuberance shone through, much greater than Alex had expected, but whether she'd want to put her patter into actual practice, Alex couldn't be sure.

They reached their room before Piper paused for breath, shrugging her jacket off onto a nearby chair and kicking away her shoes by the door. "... And I hadn't even thought about blindfolds." She was beaming from ear to ear.  
Alex chuckled. "Then I guess it was an eye-opener for both of us."

Scowling, Piper leaned against the door, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.

"You're laughing at me, aren't you?" She tugged Alex closer by the lapels of her leather jacket.  
"What can I say? Your enthusiasm for sexual education is infectious." Alex smirked. "Was that your first kink club?"  
Piper looked shy. "That was my first kink anything, really. Aside from that time in your bed..."

Alex placed a soft kiss on her lips, which Piper willingly reciprocated, leaning in to deepen the embrace. Alex pressed her back against the hotel door they had just locked behind them, running her hands under Piper's shirt. She trailed her nails across the soft skin as Piper tangled her fingers in Alex's hair, pulling the woman closer to her.

Piper nodded her assent. "I would like that very much."  
Alex leaned back, holding Piper's gaze for several seconds before responding. She needed to be sure that this was what Piper wanted. "Do you trust me?"  
Piper hesitated; the darkness in Alex's eyes was black to a depth she'd never seen before. "I trust you _completely_ Alex. You know that."  
Alex was anxious again, concern crossing her expression briefly as she registered Piper's pause. "You sure kid?"

Piper's consent was less verbal this time, trading words for an affirmative nod and a blisteringly hot kiss that left Alex almost breathless.

"Fuck." Alex inhaled deeply, a grin betraying her relief. "Wait here, 'kay?"

She stepped away and began digging through their luggage.

"Here against the door?" Piper was perplexed, but stayed where she was told.  
"Yeah. And close your eyes for me."

Piper did as she was asked, and Alex returned, satin scarf in hand. It had been the same scarf she'd noted around Alex's bedpost months earlier, an observation which had led to its own adventure.

Standing before Piper, whose knowing smile could've eclipsed the sun had she noted the item Alex held, the brunette covered her girlfriend's eyes twice, knotting the scarf tightly at the back of her head. Piper chewed her bottom lip, brimming with nervous excitement.

Alex's voice swam through the darkness, so close to her ear that Piper swore it came from inside her own head. "You sure about this?"  
Piper nodded, trying not to seem too enthusiastic. _Sure_ didn't cover her excitement.

Slowly, tenderly, Alex began to strip Piper of her clothes. She took her time over each garment, allowing her fingers to graze Piper's soft skin with each item she removed, affectionately kissing the blank canvas of flesh exposed to her.

Piper, now leaning completely naked against the wooden door, shivered involuntarily, and hesitation hung heavily in Alex's voice.  
"Are you cold?"  
"No, just... Nervous, I think. Are you nervous? Because I am."  
Alex smiled, pressing herself against Piper, warmth threading through her shirt and jeans and into the blonde's body.  
"Don't be nervous." She replied softly, trailing kisses from lips to neck while her hands roved across her girlfriend's breasts, gently teasing her nipples already hardened by the cold air.  
Piper gasped at each touch, unable to predict Alex's motions, robbed of her powers of sight. Alex's voice was soft and unexpected against her skin.  
"If I do anything you don't like, or you want me to stop, tell me."  
Piper giggled like a schoolgirl in spite of the serious tone. "Do you have a safe word you'd like me to use?"  
Alex couldn't help but laugh. "No Piper, just say stop."

Piper nodded, fingers fumbling before eventually finding Alex's jacket again. She gripped the soft leather as Alex began to litter love bites along her clavicle, tongue and teeth teasing the bones that pressed through Piper's pale skin. They kissed once more, tension growing with every thrust of Alex's clothed hips against Piper's bare thighs.

Alex broke away with a smirk, her hands overlaying Piper's as they clutched at her jacket, ensuring a modicum of closeness and control in spite of her blindness, the brunette's thumbs tracing her girlfriend's knuckles in a gesture of reassurance.  
"Want to keep going?"  
Piper, usually risk-averse and reluctant to step outside of her comfort zone, cast caution aside. She was already breathing hard from Alex's kisses, and doubted she would be satisfied if they stopped there. Her response was almost hoarse. "Yes."

Alex raised an eyebrow, glad that the blindfold rendered Piper unable to register her evident surprise. She had expected some hesitation, but there wasn't even the barest hint. She still wanted to check first.

"Remember what we did in my bed?"  
Piper nodded slowly, stifling a soft reminiscent moan, and Alex had a hard time not drawing her into another long kiss as she watched the girl swallow the sound.  
"Would you like to do that again?"  
Piper allowed herself a small smile. "Yes."  
Alex stepped closer, and Piper could hear the smirk in her voice when she spoke. "Yes, what?"  
"Yes... _Please_ , Alex?"

Unfastening the leather belt from her jeans, Alex gripped Piper's wrists firmly. Looping the belt around them and raising her girlfriend's arms into the air, she hooked the impromptu cuffs over the empty coat hook attached to the back of the door, just above Piper's head.

"Can you move?"  
Piper tugged on her bonds tentatively, twisting her wrists in an effort to escape. Finding no release, she shook her head. "I'm all yours."  
Alex couldn't help but laugh. "I'm pretty sure you were mine already, kid."

There was a pause as Alex shed her jacket, taking the opportunity to survey the scene before her. She could see Piper's taut stomach muscles, the tension in her calves as she tried to keep the weight off her arms. The leather belt had tightened around her wrists from her testing, although not uncomfortably so, and her arousal was evident. Alex couldn't remember having ever seen Piper so wet for her before now, blind and bound.

"Alex?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Please... Fuck me." Piper's tone was wanting, needing.

It was tempting to make Piper wait, to watch her anticipation build as the minutes ticked by. Had she moved to the bed behind her, she would've had the perfect view of Piper's body pressed against the unforgiving wood. But she was weak to Piper's pleading, and always had been. She was a sucker for the softness of her girlfriend's motions with every petition that slipped from her lips, and didn't need any further encouragement.

She pressed herself against Piper, spreading the blonde's legs with her thigh, nudging them apart for easier access. With one hand holding Piper's hips, Alex placed the other between her legs, sliding two fingers into her girlfriend's slick opening as she met Piper's wanton mouth with a kiss.

Piper gasped from the immediate contact, moaning into Alex, her loss of vision making each and every motion all the more intense. Her fingers grasped at open air, lacking the usual bedsheets to ball into fists or skin to scratch and tear. The leather of the belt dug into her pale wrists, leaving telltale marks of bondage to be discovered in the morning light.

"Fuck, Alex..." She panted, desperate for something, anything more.

Alex maintained a steady pace, Piper's juices coating her hand as she ventured deeper. The nails of her unoccupied fingers dug into the soft skin of Piper's ass cheeks, causing Piper to cry out as the unexpected sting met sweat-slicked sex. Rocking her hips, her biceps began to burn from the strain, stoking the fire further.

"More, please..." Piper hungered for Alex, craved her intimacy, her touch, her taste; anything she could access from her restricted position.

Alex responded with a hard kiss, brushing Piper's protestations away with a mere motion as their lips pressed together.

"Alex, I want -" Alex pushed deeper, eclipsing Piper's words.  
"Ssh kid." Alex pressed the index finger of her free hand to Piper's lips. "Don't make a sound, unless that sound is "stop". Okay?"  
Piper nodded in response, licking her lips as though erasing the syllables threatening to spill out.

Slow and steady was the entry to submission, and Alex had no desire to rush anything. Not wanting to leave Piper mute for any longer than necessary, Alex began to count to ten in her head, keeping her eyes on Piper's face in case of any problems.

 _One_ \- Piper's mouth opened as if to speak but - _two_ \- no words came out. Instead, she sank her teeth into her lip - _three_ \- worrying the flesh until it was bruised and swollen.

 _Four_ \- Alex watched with fascination - _five_ \- driving a third finger into the blonde, who remained silent aside from a sudden - _six_ \- sharp intake of breath and a rolling of hips.

 _Seven_. Piper was tightening around her, threatening to climax. _Eight_.

All she could hear was Piper's quick breathing, the sound of her leather belt creaking against the coat hook it hung from. _Nine_.  
Alex was sure that she could feel her pulse in her throat, perfectly synchronised with the one she felt inside Piper, pressing urgently against her fingers. _Ten_.

"You can speak again." She whispered.

Her girlfriend's reply came out as a rush, all nouns and expletives blurred with moans which weren't words at all. Pressing deeper still, Alex began to fuck harder, carnal desire and dominance giving her the courage to be merciless.  
Piper only had to say stop, and the scene would be done. Alex knew she could count on her for that.

Piper, for her part, was lost. The blackness behind the blindfold was all consuming, all encompassing, and were it not for the ever-increasing ache in her arms and the soft sensation of the carpet against her toes, she would have sworn blind that she was floating.

The silence Alex had inflicted upon her made her contemplative of the small sensations: the swell of Alex's breasts pressing into her, the cotton of Alex's shirt teasing her nipples with the barest of touches, the way her own mouth felt dry as she became breathless with desperation, approaching the crescendo of this intimate symphony.

Her moans became whimpers as she fell further into the darkness, the heat of her girlfriend's body a delight against her own. Alex's hips held her against the door, pinning her in place like an ornamental flower.

She could feel her girlfriend's fingers inside her, filling her until she felt it in the pit of her stomach, fucking her over and over as her muscles flexed.  
Stars pricked in her vision as the orgasm threatened to overwhelm her, and she came harder than ever before, soaking Alex's hand.

" _Alex_..!"

Every inch of her body tensed in unison, and each fibre of her being was set alight before being doused by cold water. The sex slowed and steadied, grinding to halt as the world suddenly fell still.

Unfastening the belt and removing the blindfold, Alex carried her sated girlfriend over to the bed, helping Piper under the duvet. She traded the ceiling light for the bedside lamp, hoping to help the blonde's eyes adjust of their own accord.

Piper allowed herself to sink into the soft mattress, flexing her aching arms and leaden legs.

"Alex?"  
"Yeah?" Alex shed her boots and jeans and slid under the covers beside her prone girlfriend carefully, wrapping her arms around the warm body beside her.  
"That was incredible." Piper's voice was soft, and Alex moved closer to catch every utterance. "Just, incredible. But..." She hesitated.  
"I'm here Piper. What is it?" Alex took Piper's hand into her own, kissing her on the forehead gently.  
"I am _so_ hungry."  
 _Fuck_. She'd forgotten all about dinner. They still hadn't eaten, having moved straight from the bar to the club to sex. Alex chuckled. "Wanna get room service?"  
For the first time since her orgasm, Piper opened her eyes. "Can we? Is that okay?"  
"Yeah. Anything you want." Alex reached for the menu on the bedside table and thumbed through the pages. She grabbed the phone and placed an order, opting for an assortment of their favourites rather than troubling Piper with choices. "They reckon it'll be ten minutes. That okay?"

Piper placed a kiss on Alex's lips, a second on her neck, and a third on her chest, lowering herself beneath the covers as she held her girlfriend's gaze. She pressed her palms against the flesh of Alex's thighs and spread them gently, her breath ghosting Alex's wetness through soaked underwear.

"I can wait. Want to count to ten, Alex?"


End file.
